28 The Bulletlk". 



drop off and leaving only bare stalks with a few stunted, imperfect 

 bolls. The natural method of spread is by the mites crawling from 

 one plant to another where they touch in the row, or when they are 

 blown by wind so that each plant brushes against the others near by. 

 But it seems certain that they may also be spre'ad by birds, or by other 

 insects which may rest among the infested plants for a few minutes 

 and then fly or crawl to some other plant, accidentally carrying a 

 few of the mites. In fact, Mr. E. S. G. Titus, formerly Special 

 Field Agent for the Bureau of Entomology at Washington, states* 

 that they have been taken from several insects, such as grasshoppers 

 and small bugs, which frequent the plants. It is also likely that they 

 would be spread to some extent in cultivating or hoeing the crop be- 

 fore it is "laid by." 



The fact that it has a wide range of food plants is also important. 

 As already indicated, it has shown itself destructive in this State 

 on cotton, corn and peas. What is presumably this same species has 

 been sent to us on tomato leaves, and several cotton growers have men- 

 tioned to us that it frequently starts in their fields from the poke- 

 berry weeds, and infested leaves from this plant have been sent 

 to us. Mr. Titus also records it on the cocklebur, which is a common 

 weed in this State in cotton fields. There is little doubt that it also 

 attacks many other species of weeds. 



Natural E?iemies. : — Air. Titus records the fact that several species 

 of predaceous insects prey on the Red Spider, mentioning par- 

 ticularly one of the Lady-beetles. The mites are so very small that 

 they would seldom, if ever, be eaten by birds, and up to the present 

 we know of no species of true parasite that infests it. Upon the 

 whole it seems to be not much under the control of natural enemies. 



REMEDIES. 



As a method of avoiding the first appearance of the Red Spider, 

 all weeds, especially pokeberry and cocklebur, should be kept subdued 

 by frequent and thorough cultivation. As many of. the mites will 

 still be on the younger parts of the cotton plant when the crop is 

 picked, it would help considerably if all old stalks and remnants in 

 badly infested fields were pulled and burned immediately after the 

 cotton harvest, or else turned under deeply with a two-horse turning 

 plow. These measures will tend to keep their numbers always de- 

 creased so as to escape the necessity of further and more expensive 

 treatments. 



When the Red Spider has made its appearance and begins to show 

 its bad effect on the plants we believe that the b?st plan (if it is 

 discovered early while it is yet confined to small areas) is to pull up 

 all the plants that show the trouble and also all others immediately 

 adjoining even if they arc not visibly affected, and put them all in a 



♦Circular No. 65, Bureau Entomology, "The Cotton Red Spider." Oct., 1905. 



